The Taxonomy and the Cognitive Domain

Once a teacher has written instructional objectives, a taxonomy helps sort them. A taxonomy of objectives takes the objectives (step one) and classifies them by level and by domain of learning (step two). It has two functions: categorizing objectives, and evaluating learning outcomes. Sorting objectives this way shows at a glance whether a curriculum is balanced or lopsided.

The three domains

Learning outcomes are classified into three domains. Every objective belongs to one of them:

1. The cognitive domain: intellectual skills.
2. The affective domain: values, feelings, and attitudes.
3. The psychomotor domain: muscular and motor skills.

A balanced curriculum reaches all three. A curriculum that lives entirely in the cognitive domain trains minds but ignores attitudes and skills of the body. This article takes the cognitive domain; the next takes the other two.

Flashcard

What does a taxonomy of objectives do, and what are its three domains?

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Answer

It classifies objectives by level and domain; the domains are cognitive, affective, psychomotor

Its functions are categorizing objectives and evaluating learning outcomes. Cognitive covers intellectual skills, affective covers values and attitudes, psychomotor covers motor skills.

The cognitive domain and its six levels

The cognitive domain involves intellectual skills, ranging from remembering and reproducing material up to higher-order thinking such as reasoning, problem solving, and evaluating ideas and materials. It can be assessed from simple to complex behaviours using six levels:

1. Knowledge: recalling facts.
2. Comprehension: understanding the meaning.
3. Application: using knowledge in a new situation.
4. Analysis: breaking material into parts and seeing how they relate.
5. Synthesis: combining parts into a new whole.
6. Evaluation: judging the value of ideas and materials.

The levels rise from simple to complex. Knowledge and comprehension are the lower levels, where behaviorist methods work well; the higher levels, from application up, are where cognitive methods come into their own. Writing objectives across the levels, rather than parking them all at “knowledge,” is how a teacher pushes learners toward higher thinking.

Flashcard

What are the six levels of the original cognitive domain?

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Answer

Knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation

They rise from simple recall to complex judgment. Anderson and Krathwohl’s 2001 revision renamed and reordered them to remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create, with create at the top.